OTB Bushmasters

Before this deployment I visited Eric Page at Grey Group and asked him about any boots suitable for urban terrain that I may not have heard about. He knew that my CoC wouldn't allow anything too "cool" but weren't complete boot nazis, especially when deployed. Enter the Bushmaster.

I wore these everyday for close to 8 months. They were in no way treated right. I abused the hell out of them and did no upkeep on them whatsoever. They stayed perfectly functional the entire time. I've since switched to using OTB's Desert Lites mainly because I moved to a more palm grovey rural type setting, which isn't what the Bushmasters were designed for, however they can still do the job, just expect a couple of hitchhikers from time to time due to the 6 inch height. I have no complaints, being fully aware that these are urban boots. These boots do not resist water at all, but dry fairly quickly, water wasn't a problem.

Note: I've worn Garmont T-6's and T-8's, as well as Oakley assault boots on a previous deployment. These OTB's were far more comfortable and durable, however the T-8's outperform them in a rural setting.

The sides of the boots held up perfectly well despite being constantly scraped from climbing walls and scaling buildings daily. These suckers were beat to hell and the sides do not show it.

The stitching blew around the heel cap on both boots around month 7. This did not effect the performance of the boot other than letting dirt in when I tried wearing them in a more rural palm grove type setting. Could've easily been fixed by a needle and thread.

The stitching around the edges of the toe caps blew on both boots. This had absolutely no effect on the performance of the boot and could've been fixed with a needle and thread. The hole looks worse in one picture because I cut away the toe cap to prevent it from fraying more. This happened around month 7.

Heel cap stitching blew, this only happened on one boot and didn't do anything to effect their performance. Happened around month 6.

Conclusion: I would recommend these boots to anyone who will be conducting mainly urban operations. They are quiet, VERY comfortable, and durable. OTB seems to have found the perfect balance of making this boot not too hot during the summer while at the same time not sucking total ass during the winter. Also you wont draw any second looks from boot nazi's aside from the most anal uniform checker. I like these boots enough to keep them to repair upon redeployment rather then just tossing them.

BONUS: When I posted some of this in the clothing and footwear forum, I was contacted by an OTB representative who sent me a brand new pair of Bushmasters, as well as another pair of boots free of charge. He also requested the pictures which indicated to me a desire to improve his product. All I can say is double up the stitching in the mentioned areas. All in all fucking awesome, thanks OTB!

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Do not pray for lighter loads; strive for stronger backs.

No, the bottoms are pretty grippy, although the only times this was tested I was more or less sneaking around the city at night, popping a puddle here and there, not exactly running. I'll put them on and slide around some puddles out here if you want

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Do not pray for lighter loads; strive for stronger backs.

No, the bottoms are pretty grippy, although the only times this was tested I was more or less sneaking around the city at night, popping a puddle here and there, not exactly running. I'll put them on and slide around some puddles out here if you want

8 months of use before they blow out I can live with... MUCH better than the POS Blackhawk boots I was talked into buying that lasted all of 3 weeks before the toe started separating off the boot

__________________________ Those kids need some fucking mentors. The beating stops when the bleeding stops. How fucking hard is that?-DZ Folk don't like the Bible until its time wipe every bad guy from the face of the Earth, and suddenly, its The Playbook. -Duke

Originally posted by Niquorice:Are they an 8" boot? they look short in the pictures-

The 8" equivalent is the Ferdelance or for a more traditional boot the new Desert Lites.

I've got a pair of the Bushmasters - they feel like sneakers - simply an amazing boot - and makes me wonder what adding a simple GTX liner would do for them - obviously they wouldn't be as cool - but they would then be suitable for all season wear.

-Tom

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"Remember the movie Old Yeller? Everybody loved him. He brought us our slippers. We gave him cookies. But when Old Yeller gets rabies, you shoot him in the fucking head. It's that simple." - Ted Nugent

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Originally posted by dauntedfutureMy first pair of Oakley boots failed in the same spot in the rear....Hummm.

Lots of boots fail there, not just Oakleys. I remember running around the boonies of Ft. Bragg w/ old school jungles with holes back there.

[b]-----------------------------[/b]
[COLOR:BLUE][B]"...As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.”
[/B][/COLOR][COLOR:RED][B]― Abraham Lincoln[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR:RED] [B] DUKE FOR PRESIDENT 2012[/B][/COLOR]

Originally posted by dauntedfutureMy first pair of Oakley boots failed in the same spot in the rear....Hummm.

Lots of boots fail there, not just Oakleys. I remember running around the boonies of Ft. Bragg w/ old school jungles with holes back there.

The black jungle boots were the worst. Somehow just changing the color of the canvas and nylon made then crap (actually, they didn't just change the color, they had to fingerfucken the material and construction somehow).

A well-trained Special Forces' SADM ODA is like an artillery shell... once launched, it can not be recalled. No brass, no soldiers Sir!

Yeah I forgot to add - depending on the average intelligence level of the joes in your company, you may be able to convince some of the not so bright ones that these are, in fact, spray painted addidas basketball shoes.

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Do not pray for lighter loads; strive for stronger backs.

Mitch, you crack me up...I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that those Bushmasters worked so well for you. Three things:

1) If you haven't seen the front glass of the Pro Shop in awhile you are going to pass out when you get home...2) I have two of the calenders set aside for you that made you infamous.3) When you try on the LOWA TF Boots you will never want to take them off.

Good review man...Almost forgot, Dingo and Spear just finished their Marathon.

I bought a pair of size 11 Bushmasters Friday. I wear a 10 1/2 E dress shoe and normally 11 EE New Balance running shoe. I have a high arch and instep. The Bushmasters fits well across the instep and provide adequate arch support. They are as comfortable as my New Balances and fee l almost as lite. Plan and doing some hiking and kicking around the desert nothing heavy so I'm counting on them to last for awhile.Semper Fi

Every once in a while a small lot will pop up on Amazon, but yeah after the rappel line (which sucked) New Balance stopped making them. I bought a pair of Abyss dive boots on Amazon last spring for $50, they seem to be the most available. Junglelites ,Desertlites, and Bushmasters will occasionally be there in a size or two.

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